US embassy cable - 05ALGIERS2256

UNCLAS ALGIERS 002256 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, ASEC, AG, Pol-Mil 
SUBJECT: POLICE TO LOSE CIVIL SERVICE STATUS AND GAIN 
SALARIES, BENEFITS, AND PRESTIGE 
 
 
SALARIES, BENEFITS TO BE ON PAR WITH OTHER SECURITY FORCES 
--------------------------------------------- ------------- 
 
1.  (U) Head of the National Police Ali Tounsi announced 
November 5 the next phase of the National Program for Police 
Development, which aims at improving the work conditions and 
overall situation of police.  The Program, originally 
envisioned as necessary to bolstering recruitment, which was 
in severe deficit with respect to national need during the 
terrorism years of the 1990s, aims at putting an end to 
abuses within the ranks, cleaning up the image of the police, 
and improving work conditions.  The public is increasingly 
concerned by rising crime, and the professionalization and 
hiring of police is in part a response to those concerns.  In 
this latest phase, the police will no longer be part of the 
civil service, according to press reports of Tounsi's 
remarks.  Tounsi added that police will begin earning 
salaries and benefits commensurate with the other security 
forces, such as the army and the national gendarmerie. 
Without civil service protections, though, the police will 
also be more accountable to the public.  Under the Program, 
the police are expected to expand their mandate from large 
urban areas in favor of smaller communities and rural areas 
with the goal of creating greater national uniformity of 
police protection for all Algerians.  The police, Tounsi 
stressed, will still remain under the authority of the 
Ministry of Interior. 
 
HOUSING ALLOWANCES AND NEW HOUSING UNITS PLANNED FOR POLICE 
--------------------------------------------- -------------- 
 
2.  (U) While the amount of salary increase is unclear, 
Embassy police contacts and media sources predict that it 
will be significant, if not considerable.  The cost to state 
coffers could also be hefty, since under the Program the 
ranks of police are expected to grow to 200,000 officers by 
2009, up from approximately 120,000 today.  In addition to 
unspecified salary allowances for housing, officers are also 
expected to benefit in 2006 from the construction of 
exclusive housing for police and their families.  These 
changes in housing benefits will require Parliament's 
approval of the new budget.  The entire financial and reform 
package would not have been possible absent the support of 
President Bouteflika, who firmly supports its elements, 
according to Tounsi. 
 
INCREASE IN MORALE EXPECTED TO FOLLOW 
------------------------------------- 
 
3.  (SBU) The morale of Algerian police, according to police 
sources who spoke to the Embassy on the condition of 
anonymity, has traditionally been low due in large part to 
humiliating work conditions, squad cars in poor condition, 
low salaries, and insufficient pensions.  Unlike the army, 
according to these sources, police officers do not benefit 
from state-provided lodging or a lodging stipend and often 
earn only 13,000 AD per month ($110), even though the police 
are on the front lines of confronting rioters, the ills of 
society and social tensions in general.  According to press 
reports, the morale of police officers gathered around Tounsi 
at the time of his announcement jumped sharply as they 
welcomed the news. 
 
ERDMAN